Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:29 pm on 2 July 2025.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Minister of State (Development)
3:29,
2 July 2025
I do not think that there is anybody in this House who would not agree that we should—and do—believe in the equal treatment of all people of all faiths and beliefs. This is fundamental to who we are. We have Laws that support this, and the vast Majority of people in this country support that too. Where we fall short or where there are problems in our communities or at high-profile events, there are steps that could and should be taken, and this Government support that.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
